Wang’s Happy Trading

Submitted By Optiondragon

Karajan - Beethoven Symphony No. 9

From Briefing.com

Media Digest 4/9/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg from 24/7 Wallst

According to Reuters, Citigroup (C) will sell $12 billion in troubled loans to a group of private equity firms.

Reuters reports that some members of the Fed believe that the US will hit a sharp downturn.

Reuters writes that Alan Greenspan has said the US is in recession.

Reuters reports that Washington Mutual (WM) got a $7 billion cash infusion and cut a number of jobs.

Reuters writes that American Air (AMR) cancelled a number of flights to inspect MD-80 aircraft.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the Fed is weighing options of what it might do if the credit crunch becomes more severe.

The Walls Street Journal reports that Washington Mutual turned down a takeover bid from JP Morgan (JPM).

The Wall Street Journal reports that US energy officials say the price of oil will average $101 a barrel this year.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Legg Mason would support Yahoo! (YHOO) remaining independent if Microsoft (MSFT) drops its offer.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Delta (DAL) is working with its pilots to help complete a merger with Northwest (NWA).

The WSJ reports that the IMF believes total losses from the housing crisis could hit $945 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sun (JAVA) has improved the performance of its servers.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Intel (INTC) Capital is betting on growth in China.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Dell (DELL) is in talks with the Dubai sovereign fund about an investment to improve the PC company’s sales in the Middle East.

The Wall Street Journal reports that officials have tripled the number of people killed by tainted heparin.

The Wall Street Journal writes that AMD’s (AMD) server chip is set for broad distribution

The New York Times writes that BP (BP) and ConocoPhillips (COP) plan a new Alaska pipeline.

According to the FT, John Mack survived a shareholder revolt at JP Morgan (JPM) to keep his job

Bloomberg writes that the Fed may slow rate cuts in the face of the shrinking economy.

Intuitive Surgical-ISRG: Expect 52% revenue growth in Q1, maintain Hold@NEED
Needham expects Q1 results of $173M/94c and their survey of 157 U.S. urologists and OB/GYNs supports continued market penetration for da Vinci Surgical Systems. However, they recommend investors wait for weakness to buy the stock given the current valuation levels. :

RIMM initiated with a Hold@NEED
Needham thinks BlackBerry’s growth could slow materially when more versatile applications developed for the iPhone begin to appear in the second half of the year.

Internet: Remain cautious due to deceleration in the quarter@LEHM
Lehman believes AMZN & GOOG have increased risk and notes that GOOG is seeing an impact from quality initiatives, slowing search traffic. The firm expects EBAY to beat Street estimates and has raised estimates ahead of the Q1 report.

UPS estimates lowered after downside pre-report@JPMS
JP Morgan attributes weakness in air express volumes as well as high fuel prices for the weakness in Q1 and feels near-term upside drivers are unclear in the near-term. As a result, they lowered 2008 estimate to $4.05 from $4.35. Shares remain Overweight rated.

Goldman Sachs’s black eye: First Marblehead-WSJ
Goldman Sach’s (GS) investment in First Marblehead Corp. (FMD), the student-loan company, was a commitment to invest $260.5M, plus a $1B credit line. On Monday, Education Resources Institute, a student loan insurer close to First Marblehead, filed for bankruptcy and Marblehead’s shares are suffering, reports the Wall Street Journal, down 37% at the close yesterday. Marblehead’s student loans are largely guaranteed by Education Resources Institute, and packaged into securities. Goldman Sachs has a commitment to purchase $200.7M more in in preferred shares that can be converted to common shares at $15 each. If Goldman proceeds with the purchase it will lose $136M on paper, increasing the total of its potential losses to $170M, for its 16.7% holdings.

CLX: Believe Q3 consensus estimates could still be a bit high@JPMS
JP Morgan thinks the consensus Q3 estimate for CLX of 76c still may be a bit high, but they feel Q4 estimates may be too low and that shares are inexpensive at current levels. They maintain an Overweight rating on the stock.

GRMN: North American market is still thriving, reit Outperform@JMPS
JMP Securities notes that Garmin competitor TomTom reported that North America is still a healthy market for PNDs, as PND unit growth there is over 100%. JMP Securities’ checks of large retailers indicated that Garmin is the best-selling brand in 100% of the stores.

Mosaic-MOS meetings with management in NY 4/9 - 4/10 sponsor JPMS

Ultra Petroleum-UPL meeting with management in NY 4/9 sponsor JEFF

DECK initiated with a Positive@SUSQ
Susquehanna is positive on DECK given strong UGG demand and its evolution beyond its core boot heritage.

CHTT: Fundamentals are solid, reit Buy@STFG
After the company reported higher than expected EPS for its Q1, Stanford thinks the company will continue to experience sales momentum as it releases new products in its Q2.

FCX target raised to $137 from $135, reiterate Buy@DBAB
Deutsche Bank raised their estimates to reflect a higher copper forecast.

PCU initiated with a Sell, target $102@SBSH
Citigroup believes shares are relatively overvalued and sees more value in other mining names.

ITT Educational Service-ESI downgraded to Neutral from Buy@PIPR
Piper downgraded ESI as they believe the company is facing challenges in securing risk share agreements with its new private lenders. this could put pressure on the shares today.

Apple tech guru unsure of when 3G iPhone will be released-Silicon Alley Insider
The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg ‘has no idea’ when Apple’s (AAPL) will release the much-rumored 3G iPhone, despite predicting earlier it would be released in June. While there is a video clip of Mossberg saying the phone will be released ‘in 60 days,’ he notes that he’s making ‘an aside during a larger point,’ and he is unsure ‘if it’s correct’.

Natural Gas: 2008-2010 forecast raised@UBSW
UBS raised its 2008-2010 natural gas forecasts to $8.50/mmBtu, $8.75/MMBtu, and $8.75/MMBtu. The firm’s top US gas E&P’s are SWN, UPL, STR, & XTO, favorite Canadians are ECA, CNQ, & TLM.
Interesting note and keep a watch on those NG plays.

APA upgraded by UBS to $146 to a buy.

IGT: View share weakness as good buying opportunity@SBSH
Citigroup attributes the recent weakness to concerns that slower economic growth could affect IGT’s participation business and replacement sales, but believes the company’s long-term growth story is intact. Shares remain Buy rated.

AMAG downgraded to Sell from Neutral@MLCO
AMAG: Shares defended, do not expect Ferumoxytol delay@JEFF
Jefferies rates shares of AMAG a Buy.
AMAG gapping down.

ACI downgraded to Neutral from Overweight@HSBC
HSBC downgraded ACI based on valuation.

RRC downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight@MSCO
Morgan Stanley downgraded RRC citing valuation. Target to $75 from $50.

CNQ upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight@LEHM
Lehman upgraded CNQ citing valuation. Target to $85 from $81.

ANR initiated with an Outperform@RAJA

RIO initiated with a Neutral, target $43.50@HSBC
HSBC cites the company’s dependence on iron ore for their Neutral rating.

iPhone 2.0 beta contains 3G chipset-AppleInsider
The creators of the iPhone unlocking utility have discovered that hidden in the latest test firmware for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone developers is the mention that the chipset is set to power 3G cellular Internet access in the iPhone 2.0. The creators said the chipset, the SGOLD3H, is an Infineon (IFX) chipset and supplies the baseband for cellular data on GSM phones.

Retailers: Cautious heading into March sales reporting period@COWN
Cowen’s checks indicate March quarter sales will be disappointing. The firm recommends being selective and recommends ANF due to its higher-income consumers and AEO, ANN, BEBE, LTD, MW, TIF, WSM, and WTSLA due to valuation discounts, and ULTA and URBN for superior growth prospects.

Fast Money position update: First Moves- Pete likes MYGN, Macke and Karen like XLF, Adami likes USB.
Macke Owns (YHOO), (MSFT), (INTC); Najarian Owns (AAPL), (MSFT), (YHOO), (XLF), (CSCO), (BIIB), (CHK), (BKC), (AMR),  (DAL); Najarian Owns (AA) Calls, (BA) Calls, (BSC) Calls, (COP) Calls; Najarian Owns (LEH) Puts, (MER) Puts, (OIH) Puts; Finerman Owns (GS); Finerman’s Firm And Finerman Own (FLS); Finerman’s Firm Owns (MSFT), (PZN), (SUN), (TSO), (VLO), (WMT), (YHOO), (KALU), (SBUX); Finerman’s Firm Is Short (IYR), (IJR), (MDY), (SPY), (IWM); Finerman’s Firm Owns (FNM) Calls; Finerman Owns (AMV) Warrants.

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The C news could help stabilize the XLF and in turn support the market, if we get some leadership in some other areas like energy we could get some market support here. We have oil inventory numbers coming out today at 10:30 AM ET, that will impact the energy plays. Looks like we are range bound for the foreseeable future so trading the ranges could be still the right strategy to employ. I do like how the market is holding up and we need to stay in this area in order to make higher highs. Move with the market, stay positive and keep goal oriented. Great trading and good luck!